Surf Culture

Suzie Harrison The name of the surf culture event to be held Saturday and Sunday on the Festival of Arts grounds is misleading, but its mission is clear. The Moonshine Festival is a celebration of music, art, film, photography and surfing, not homemade liquor. The two-day event, already sold out for Saturday, is a benefit for the Fight to Walk Foundation for Kevin Kroushinsky, Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance, Surfing Heritage Foundation and the Kokua Hawaii Foundation.

Laguna filmmaker Cyrus Sutton?s latest film, ?Under the Sun,? premiered at South Coast Cinemas in September, in collaboration with West Coast Record and Ubiquity Records. The film?s debut in Laguna Beach was fitting for the filmmaker, who says he rode his best waves at Thalia Street Beach while splitting his time between Laguna and Seal Beach as a youngster. The 16 mm feature documentary about surf culture won ?Best Action Sports Film? at the Newport Beach Film Festival in April and ?

Last week was brutal, in traveling terms. Flying home after spending the week in Sayulita, Mexico, I stopped in Phoenix to go through customs and then go on to John Wayne Airport, getting in about 10:30 p.m. After a week of sunny and warm weather, I was blown away when I arrived late that night into cold, rainy weather. Home for seven hours, I had enough time to sleep for six hours, pack a different duffel bag with some warmer clothes and catch my flight for New York at 8:10 a.m. Exhausted, I jumped in my car, driving in the early, freezing cold and drizzly morning.

In 1972, Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman’s iconic surf film “Five Summer Stories” made the world take notice of surf culture. Now, 35 years after the film’s release, MacGillivray is partnering with the Surfing Heritage Foundation in San Clemente to preserve the surf culture he documented. The foundation will screen the film at 7 p.m. Saturday. The movie will be followed by a discussion with MacGillivray and a panel of surfers featured in the film. MacGillivray has come a long way in his four decades of filmmaking, but the IMAX pioneer and documentarian said it all started with a love of surfing.

Suzie Harrison The Laguna Art Museum's new exhibit is perfect for the season. Artists from the beginning of the surf culture to now have captured their love of the sport in a variety of mediums. Some of their work will appear in Surf Culture: The Art history of Surfing through Oct. 6. "It may be the most comprehensive look at surfing ever. It's not just an exhibit, it is a whole series of events that are happening the entire summer to the last day," said Stuart Byer public relations director.

EYE ON ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Hide Tides and High fun in Laguna Beach Aloha, Aloha Tomorrow afternoon from noon to 4 p.m. the Laguna Art Museum, as part of its surf culture exhibit, and the Festival of the Arts will bring you Hawaiian Culture. There's a ton of cool stuff going on that day that you won't want to miss. Plus it's a date, friends or family kind of event, meaning it's a lot of fun for everyone. The event looks at the customs, culture, crafts and history of Hawaii.

Suzie Harrison WHAT HAPPENED At Tuesday's meeting the Arts Commission voted to approve a proposal from the Laguna Art Museum to conduct a music and film series to coincide with its huge Surf Culture exhibit. WHAT IT MEANS The commission will present the recommendation to the City Council on June 25. The proposed dates will be Sept. 5 and Oct. 6. It will propose the films be shown at the entrance of Picnic Beach at Heisler Park. The Surf Culture exhibit will run from July 27 through Oct. 6. The idea is to parallel the surf theme with surf movies.

Suzie Harrison The Laguna Art Museum's Board of Directors and key staff members used this year's weekend retreat to discuss future plans and review the past year's progress. "It's the 85th anniversary this year, a very exciting time," Chuck James, board president said of the January retreat. Museum Director Bolton Colburn thinks the retreats are good for the betterment of the museum. There are about 25 people on the board and 10 to 11 staff people who go to the retreat.

While celebrating the surf culture history, the Laguna Art Museum will be making history of its own. At dusk during next Thursday's First Art Walk at Picnic Beach at Heisler, Laguna Art Museum will be showing the surf classic "Gidget." It's the brainchild of Laguna Art Museum and the idea got great response from the Arts Commission months ago. Both city manager Ken Frank and arts coordinator Sian Poeschl don't believe an event like this has happened before.

Former Laguna Art Museum executive director Bolton Colburn hasn't traded his business attire for Hawaiian shirts just yet, but he is poised to make a splash in the world of surf culture. Colburn has been hired as executive director by the Surfing Heritage Foundation with an ambitious goal to take the 11-year-old organization from a San Clemente industrial park to an urban coastal center and significantly raise its profile. "It's my dream job," said Colburn, a former competitive surfer who was a U.S. amateur surfing champion in the late 1970s.

Former Laguna Art Museum executive director Bolton Colburn hasn't traded his business attire for Hawaiian shirts just yet, but he is poised to make a splash in the world of surf culture. Colburn has been hired as executive director by the Surfing Heritage Foundation with an ambitious goal to take the 11-year-old organization from a San Clemente industrial park to an urban coastal center and significantly raise its profile. "It's my dream job," said Colburn, a former competitive surfer who was a U.S. amateur surfing champion in the late 1970s.

Last week was brutal, in traveling terms. Flying home after spending the week in Sayulita, Mexico, I stopped in Phoenix to go through customs and then go on to John Wayne Airport, getting in about 10:30 p.m. After a week of sunny and warm weather, I was blown away when I arrived late that night into cold, rainy weather. Home for seven hours, I had enough time to sleep for six hours, pack a different duffel bag with some warmer clothes and catch my flight for New York at 8:10 a.m. Exhausted, I jumped in my car, driving in the early, freezing cold and drizzly morning.

Victor and Leah Pakpour are two surfers from Laguna to keep an eye on. This brother and sister duo has been turning heads with their talents both here in Laguna and throughout the Southern California surfing scene. Victor, who is 17 and a student at Laguna Beach High School, is garnering attention for his ability to capture (on film) some of the best young surfers in the world and is currently working on his first feature surf film. Leah, 13, and a Thurston honors student, has appeared on the radar with her competitive surfing.

Laguna filmmaker Cyrus Sutton?s latest film, ?Under the Sun,? premiered at South Coast Cinemas in September, in collaboration with West Coast Record and Ubiquity Records. The film?s debut in Laguna Beach was fitting for the filmmaker, who says he rode his best waves at Thalia Street Beach while splitting his time between Laguna and Seal Beach as a youngster. The 16 mm feature documentary about surf culture won ?Best Action Sports Film? at the Newport Beach Film Festival in April and ?

In 1972, Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman’s iconic surf film “Five Summer Stories” made the world take notice of surf culture. Now, 35 years after the film’s release, MacGillivray is partnering with the Surfing Heritage Foundation in San Clemente to preserve the surf culture he documented. The foundation will screen the film at 7 p.m. Saturday. The movie will be followed by a discussion with MacGillivray and a panel of surfers featured in the film. MacGillivray has come a long way in his four decades of filmmaking, but the IMAX pioneer and documentarian said it all started with a love of surfing.

Suzie Harrison The name of the surf culture event to be held Saturday and Sunday on the Festival of Arts grounds is misleading, but its mission is clear. The Moonshine Festival is a celebration of music, art, film, photography and surfing, not homemade liquor. The two-day event, already sold out for Saturday, is a benefit for the Fight to Walk Foundation for Kevin Kroushinsky, Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance, Surfing Heritage Foundation and the Kokua Hawaii Foundation.

Suzie Harrison Getting ready for the first day of school. Trick-or-treating on Halloween. Sleigh rides in the winter or surfing during the summer. Parties for New Year's Eve. Mentioning any of these happenings paints an image in one's mind, a reminder that to everything there is a season. Such memories are the premise of this year's Pageant of the Masters summer show "Seasons," which is designed to take the audience on a sentimental journey. Great works such as Sandro Botticelli's "Primavera," Norman Rockwell's "First in His Class" and "Endless Summer" by John Van Hamersveld will come to life for the Pageant of the Masters 70th anniversary show.

Suzie Harrison Whiteness -- the word seems simple enough, but deeper insight brings up anthropological, societal and cultural issues that are being explored through art at the Laguna Art Museum. "Whiteness, A Wayward Construction," looks at this complex topic through a variety of media by mostly California-based artists whose work explores representations of whiteness and how it is used as an instrument of power. The museum's curator Tyler Stallings said the theme for the exhibit came from a series of shows loosely based on how identity is constructed through outside influences.

Suzie Harrison The Laguna Art Museum's Board of Directors and key staff members used this year's weekend retreat to discuss future plans and review the past year's progress. "It's the 85th anniversary this year, a very exciting time," Chuck James, board president said of the January retreat. Museum Director Bolton Colburn thinks the retreats are good for the betterment of the museum. There are about 25 people on the board and 10 to 11 staff people who go to the retreat.

BEST BUYS Find all of the surf lifestyle accessories you'd ever want at Hobie Surf. It's one of Laguna's most visited surf shops, carrying everything from home decor to custom surfboards. There's hula-theme bedding, Hawaiian quilts, Tiki Farm ceramic vases, cookie jars and cocktail glasses. It even carries high-end bamboo furniture from Palacek. Custom surfboards are its specialty, and it has apparel for the entire family. Popular surf brands are carried here, and it's now selling boutique brands from Lucky, Michael and P.J. Salvage.